Color Transforms: Starry Night

One of design's most powerful tools is color; it has the power to decide which emotions a design will evoke, and how well the design will be received. Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night", uses a relatively small number of colors to portray a very broad spectrum of emotions.

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"Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh

The above painting is one of the most recognizable pieces of art ever made and certainly one of Van Gogh's most famous. One could analyze this piece for hours on end for its technique or content; I only have time to focus on one, color.

The first thing I notice when looking at this piece is that it is primarily made up of two colors: blue and yellow. Both are primary colors which lands them too far away from each other on the color wheel to be analogous, but too close to be complementary. This allows for a sense of contrast without the colors clashing. Both colors appear somewhat saturated, yet neither overpowers the other. The yellow stars stand out as small circles against the blue background, and become a focal point of the piece. The other focal point is the black figure in the foreground of the painting. This aspect also stands out, because it is neither blue nor yellow, but a cold black with red highlights. I personally see the figure as a sort of tree, but that is up for debate. The fact that it is painted in black gives the figure a sense of mystery, leaving it to be interpreted however the viewer chooses. 

It is not only the black figure that causes mixed responses from viewers; in my experience viewers have many different interpretations of this painting. Some people view it as a peaceful and mystical night scene while others feel it gives off a creepy, dark atmosphere. The fact that it is made up of mainly two primary colors, one cool, one warm, and that the colors are neither muted nor overly saturated, allows this painting to remain balanced and somewhat neutral. The viewers reaction to this piece depends heavily on how that person is feeling and how he or she feels about the colors blue and yellow.

Van Gogh has created, or designed this piece with color very much in mind. The result is a design that is not only beautiful, but versatile, a quality that takes a design from personal to universal.